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Is Anticancer Drug Development Heading in the Right Direction?

School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Requests for reprints: Trevor W. Hambley, School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Phone: 61-2-9351-2830; Fax: 61-2-9351-3329; E-mail: t.hambley{at}chem.usyd.edu.au.

The success of molecularly targeted agents, such as imatinib, has led to expectations of a new era in anticancer drug development, and to a greatly increased focus on targeting as a strategy. However, the number of successes to date is small, and recent results suggest that the success of imatinib, for instance, in treating chronic myelogenous leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumor may be the exception rather than the rule. Here, we argue that the search for new anticancer agents needs to continue on as many fronts as possible, and not be focused on one strategy alone. [Cancer Res 2009;69(4):1259–62]

Reviews

Is Anticancer Drug Development Heading in the Right Direction?

School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Requests for reprints: Trevor W. Hambley, School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Phone: 61-2-9351-2830; Fax: 61-2-9351-3329; E-mail: t.hambley{at}chem.usyd.edu.au.

The success of molecularly targeted agents, such as imatinib, has led to expectations of a new era in anticancer drug development, and to a greatly increased focus on targeting as a strategy. However, the number of successes to date is small, and recent results suggest that the success of imatinib, for instance, in treating chronic myelogenous leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumor may be the exception rather than the rule. Here, we argue that the search for new anticancer agents needs to continue on as many fronts as possible, and not be focused on one strategy alone. [Cancer Res 2009;69(4):1259–62]

William N. Hait

Hematology and Oncology, Ortho Biotech Oncology Research and Development, a Division of Johnson & Johnson